Good post but I think the real issue for us younger guys is that we literally grew up with access to hardcore porn in our bedrooms and for some of us, it has caused long-lasting issues with social anxiety, porn addiction, ED, etc.
It's something you may not be able to fully grasp having lived the kind of lifestyle you had when you were our age. The writing's pretty well on the wall amongst internet communities that long-term use and over reliance of porn has done us some pretty awful damage.
Thanks, Eamon. That's a fair point, and you're right that the availability of porn anywhere, any time must have some repercussions. I wonder if anyone jerks off to just imagination any more? I can remember looking at the underwear section of my mother's catalogues, for crying out loud! I guess it's like the difference between radio and Occulus goggles. Different worlds.
We just got back from Greece where Kate liked to joke around with the locals about the word "malakas," which literally means "man who masturbates," and which she learned while working at a Greek restaurant in 1970's Anne Arbor." It's one of the most commonly used pejorative slang words in Greek, meant as an insult, that you masturbate so much that you have become an idiot. Really, I would think, this is the best they can come up with? Now excuse me while I get back to my hysterical epilepsy and cataleptic fits...
Hey Chris and others! I consider this a smart community so i thought id ask has anyone read Gary Wilsons work or seen the studies done where it shows the MRIs of people who watch porn regularly are the same as heroin addicts? Im not against masterbating at all i jack off like 5 times in a day sometimes but i think maybe porn can have some bad consequences to it. Thats why im advocating a NNN Nostalgia Nut November where I only jack off to old playboys found in the attic now. Gary Wilson in the study said pictures is better because at least you have to use your imagination. I was thinkin about if u gave an iphone with billions of people fuckin to a hunter gatherer this would surely his brain composition would differ than without the porn. Sometimes ill refrain from jacking off to get what feels like super hero strength but then the sort of xray vision thing comes in where i start to almost see thru womans clothes and get way too horny and even a snippet of a boob on tv can make me wanna jack off. Was wonderin wat ur guys opinions were? But i also agree that an addiction to anything is not the substance but the root underlying cause of it as well.
Theres also this article that the images are fake.
Love the witty Nancy Reagan jab in your title Chris. Thank you for speaking out against this “War on Tugs.” There is a mass of men saluting your service with their non-dominant hand.
I think every guy should go for it 30 days at least once and see for themselves. I personally became super motivated to create stuff, no brain fog, constantly coming up with creative ideas to write down, working out, jogging. When I was around women I was super sharp, engaged in the conversations and feeling very confident. It was the first time I genuinely felt at ease, not needing the “fake it till you make it”. It was all very surprising. Compared to what I was and how I felt before, a huge difference. Idk it might not work if you are naturally extroverted, from what I’ve read not all people feel the benefits.
How much of this positive outcome could be due to your feeling empowered by simply taking control of a part of your life that may have felt out of control? In other words, might you have felt similarly if you'd decided to fast (and did it) or go for a run every day (and did it) or stop drinking (and did it)?
That is fair question and I have some experience for comparison. I do a fast in the beginning of every new year. Ranging from 5 to 10 days. That really clears the mind! Even just dropping grains and milk. Helps a ton for possible brain fog. I suspect I have a slight gluten over sensitivity though. Once when in university I spent a year without drinking. It didn’t give me any superpowers, I just realized that I could have good time without drinking. Nofap is something else though. After all it must be about the contrast. If you are daily fapper, the effects are likely more significant. Ejaculation is the biggest release of dopamine for an animal like us and that’s what it comes down to. When you don’t get it, you feel the craving. Soon enough even the smallest of things that release dopamine start to feel ultra pleasurable, you become more sensitive to it. Even smelling flowers can be so enjoyable that it makes me chuckle a bit. So to answer your question, I think the success in habit change is a factor here. However I think it is smaller factor compared to the direct changes that happen in neurochemistry. There are other factors too. Eg. People who don’t jack off to porn are less likely to look at screens late at night and sleep better. I just heard that there is some new research on how it makes person more depressed when they stare at screens at night between 12pm and 4am. (Source: Andrew Hubermann’s podcast) So many variables. But whatever works for you, and feels good, do it! 🤘🏻[Thanks for the lavalier mics btw. I’ll drop you an email about the shipping. I must not forget to say ”This podcast is sponsored by Tangentially Speaking” when I get to recording 😁]
Great article Chris! All I can say is god save us smh, I hope we are not lost as a society but the more things I learn and read about like "No nut November" the more disappointed I feel. Its hard to believe these things are real. I feel like I am in the twilight zone. God save us
One study (that I just made up) shows that men who masturbate less than 1x per week exhibit higher instances of road-rage, leading to a 5x higher likelihood that they will perish in a traffic accident.
That's not how science works mate. You can't just make stuff up, it's gotta be peer reviewed. That means you need at least five others to say "yeah that makes sense/sounds about right." 😜
No nut November isn’t that bad. It’s mainly just to see if you can actually make it through the month without touching your dick. If you can’t go 30 days without hitting that hammer then I think the pleasure has made you it’s slave. Once I made it through one NNN I think my relationship with beating off became way healthier. Especially because of how porn is so intertwined with jacking off today and porn addictions aren’t just simple pleasure. It can fuck with your real relationships
Yes, I'm familiar with the Taoist theories, some of which seem to make sense to me, and some of which don't. I'm not familiar with any evidence that producing sperm/semen depletes the body of vital energies. Why should that be, when we look at so many other things we do with our bodies as energizing (walking, dancing, digesting ... all of which burn energy)?
If the Taoists were right about ejaculation depleting men's vitality (especially as they get older), we'd know it. I remember reading that "every ejaculation after a man reaches 50 takes a year off his life." If that were so, I'd have been dead a week after my 50th birthday!
When I said "We'd know it," I was referring to the Taoist idea that men lose a year of life every time they ejaculate after 50. The implication was that there would be very few men over 50. (An attempt at humor that didn't work, I guess.)
My perspective is that anti-pleasure campaigns have done horrendous harm over the past few centuries, so I am reflexively suspicious of any claims that masturbation or any other pleasure is harmful. Of course, we can develop harmful relationships with anything from chocolate to Pornhub, but from my perspective this is a reflection of something being out of balance in us, not a reason to think that chocolate or porn are harmful, per se.
As for evidence, yes, I'm interested in scientific evidence when discussing public health policy.
Don't know if I buy the energetic thing. I feel rejuvenated and I "waste" it all the time.
But of course orgasms aren't necessarily related to ejaculation. Not even to erection. And for sure multiple are feasible. What it takes is some increased sensitivity towards one's own inner sensations.
Good post but I think the real issue for us younger guys is that we literally grew up with access to hardcore porn in our bedrooms and for some of us, it has caused long-lasting issues with social anxiety, porn addiction, ED, etc.
It's something you may not be able to fully grasp having lived the kind of lifestyle you had when you were our age. The writing's pretty well on the wall amongst internet communities that long-term use and over reliance of porn has done us some pretty awful damage.
Thanks, Eamon. That's a fair point, and you're right that the availability of porn anywhere, any time must have some repercussions. I wonder if anyone jerks off to just imagination any more? I can remember looking at the underwear section of my mother's catalogues, for crying out loud! I guess it's like the difference between radio and Occulus goggles. Different worlds.
I went to Marine Corps Boot Camp and did not masturbate for 3 months, and I was 19.
We just got back from Greece where Kate liked to joke around with the locals about the word "malakas," which literally means "man who masturbates," and which she learned while working at a Greek restaurant in 1970's Anne Arbor." It's one of the most commonly used pejorative slang words in Greek, meant as an insult, that you masturbate so much that you have become an idiot. Really, I would think, this is the best they can come up with? Now excuse me while I get back to my hysterical epilepsy and cataleptic fits...
Hey Chris and others! I consider this a smart community so i thought id ask has anyone read Gary Wilsons work or seen the studies done where it shows the MRIs of people who watch porn regularly are the same as heroin addicts? Im not against masterbating at all i jack off like 5 times in a day sometimes but i think maybe porn can have some bad consequences to it. Thats why im advocating a NNN Nostalgia Nut November where I only jack off to old playboys found in the attic now. Gary Wilson in the study said pictures is better because at least you have to use your imagination. I was thinkin about if u gave an iphone with billions of people fuckin to a hunter gatherer this would surely his brain composition would differ than without the porn. Sometimes ill refrain from jacking off to get what feels like super hero strength but then the sort of xray vision thing comes in where i start to almost see thru womans clothes and get way too horny and even a snippet of a boob on tv can make me wanna jack off. Was wonderin wat ur guys opinions were? But i also agree that an addiction to anything is not the substance but the root underlying cause of it as well.
Theres also this article that the images are fake.
https://medium.com/@nicole.prause/the-fake-brain-image-being-circulated-by-anti-pornography-extremists-fedc59ccccbe
Love the witty Nancy Reagan jab in your title Chris. Thank you for speaking out against this “War on Tugs.” There is a mass of men saluting your service with their non-dominant hand.
Loved this post--sharp and witty and insightful.
Thank you
As usual, I am reminded again how much I appreciate your existence in this world
No Nut November starting…now!
I think every guy should go for it 30 days at least once and see for themselves. I personally became super motivated to create stuff, no brain fog, constantly coming up with creative ideas to write down, working out, jogging. When I was around women I was super sharp, engaged in the conversations and feeling very confident. It was the first time I genuinely felt at ease, not needing the “fake it till you make it”. It was all very surprising. Compared to what I was and how I felt before, a huge difference. Idk it might not work if you are naturally extroverted, from what I’ve read not all people feel the benefits.
How much of this positive outcome could be due to your feeling empowered by simply taking control of a part of your life that may have felt out of control? In other words, might you have felt similarly if you'd decided to fast (and did it) or go for a run every day (and did it) or stop drinking (and did it)?
That is fair question and I have some experience for comparison. I do a fast in the beginning of every new year. Ranging from 5 to 10 days. That really clears the mind! Even just dropping grains and milk. Helps a ton for possible brain fog. I suspect I have a slight gluten over sensitivity though. Once when in university I spent a year without drinking. It didn’t give me any superpowers, I just realized that I could have good time without drinking. Nofap is something else though. After all it must be about the contrast. If you are daily fapper, the effects are likely more significant. Ejaculation is the biggest release of dopamine for an animal like us and that’s what it comes down to. When you don’t get it, you feel the craving. Soon enough even the smallest of things that release dopamine start to feel ultra pleasurable, you become more sensitive to it. Even smelling flowers can be so enjoyable that it makes me chuckle a bit. So to answer your question, I think the success in habit change is a factor here. However I think it is smaller factor compared to the direct changes that happen in neurochemistry. There are other factors too. Eg. People who don’t jack off to porn are less likely to look at screens late at night and sleep better. I just heard that there is some new research on how it makes person more depressed when they stare at screens at night between 12pm and 4am. (Source: Andrew Hubermann’s podcast) So many variables. But whatever works for you, and feels good, do it! 🤘🏻[Thanks for the lavalier mics btw. I’ll drop you an email about the shipping. I must not forget to say ”This podcast is sponsored by Tangentially Speaking” when I get to recording 😁]
Great article Chris! All I can say is god save us smh, I hope we are not lost as a society but the more things I learn and read about like "No nut November" the more disappointed I feel. Its hard to believe these things are real. I feel like I am in the twilight zone. God save us
One study (that I just made up) shows that men who masturbate less than 1x per week exhibit higher instances of road-rage, leading to a 5x higher likelihood that they will perish in a traffic accident.
It's science.
That's not how science works mate. You can't just make stuff up, it's gotta be peer reviewed. That means you need at least five others to say "yeah that makes sense/sounds about right." 😜
So it’s good that all the holy men in temples all around the world usually don’t drive cars. The ones who do are all coomers.
The takeaway for me is, there's pretty much no chance I will get prostate cancer. Bonus.
No nut November isn’t that bad. It’s mainly just to see if you can actually make it through the month without touching your dick. If you can’t go 30 days without hitting that hammer then I think the pleasure has made you it’s slave. Once I made it through one NNN I think my relationship with beating off became way healthier. Especially because of how porn is so intertwined with jacking off today and porn addictions aren’t just simple pleasure. It can fuck with your real relationships
NNN made me enjoy my relationship masturbation way more. Instead of it having to be a daily or more thing.
Help me, please. What is with January? I need to know what to do until Frivolous February.
Joyful January 😄
Yes, I'm familiar with the Taoist theories, some of which seem to make sense to me, and some of which don't. I'm not familiar with any evidence that producing sperm/semen depletes the body of vital energies. Why should that be, when we look at so many other things we do with our bodies as energizing (walking, dancing, digesting ... all of which burn energy)?
If the Taoists were right about ejaculation depleting men's vitality (especially as they get older), we'd know it. I remember reading that "every ejaculation after a man reaches 50 takes a year off his life." If that were so, I'd have been dead a week after my 50th birthday!
When I said "We'd know it," I was referring to the Taoist idea that men lose a year of life every time they ejaculate after 50. The implication was that there would be very few men over 50. (An attempt at humor that didn't work, I guess.)
My perspective is that anti-pleasure campaigns have done horrendous harm over the past few centuries, so I am reflexively suspicious of any claims that masturbation or any other pleasure is harmful. Of course, we can develop harmful relationships with anything from chocolate to Pornhub, but from my perspective this is a reflection of something being out of balance in us, not a reason to think that chocolate or porn are harmful, per se.
As for evidence, yes, I'm interested in scientific evidence when discussing public health policy.
Don't know if I buy the energetic thing. I feel rejuvenated and I "waste" it all the time.
But of course orgasms aren't necessarily related to ejaculation. Not even to erection. And for sure multiple are feasible. What it takes is some increased sensitivity towards one's own inner sensations.